Air-filter



H, F. MILKER.

AIR FILTER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2?, 1919.

Patanted Apr. 13, 1920.

' STATES PATENT oFE oE.

mum r. mnxme, or 'fenoonvn,'mw YORK, essrenoa r0 ems, reemnun lrmorecronmc co.,--or imooxnyn, NEW YORK, 11 conromrronor new YORK.

Jim-Fluent Application med June 27, 1919. set-aunt. aemoil To all whom it'may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT of Brookl 11, county of Kings; city.v and State of ew York,.have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air- Filters, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to air filters andmore particularly to that type thereof which 7 is adapted for use in connection with airoperated. automatic controllers for regulat- 1ngtemper'ature, pressure, liquid levels, timmg oi operatlon's or processes, etc. In such.

contrdllers it is necessar in order to secure efiicient operat on, to

to prevent particles of pipe scale or other foreigrr matter, as well as oil particles andoil vapbrg'from reaching said air valve.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple filter whereby the desired filtering of- .the air may be positively and efliciently aocomplished, said filter including, as the active filtering medium, a tubular fabric,

commonly known as lamp wick, andhaving show an exampleof my invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section with'parts broken away; and Fig. '2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1. v

The arrangement shown in the drawingsand whereby use of my invention is illus trated, comprises acoupling 5, a section of pipe 6, and a T-fitting 7, connected together to form a unit or shell, suitable bushings 8, -9 and 10 being located at opposite ends of said unit and connected with said T-fitting 7 respectively as shown in Fig. 1; An airinlet pipe 11 which may communicate with.

a suitable source of air supply" under pressure is connected with the bushing 8 so as to communicate with the interior of the aforesaid unit and an air outletpipe 12 which may lead to the airvalve of an automatic controller of the t'ype previously referred to,

is connected with the bushing 10 so as to communicate with the chamber- 13 of the T- P. 41m a citizen of the United States, and resident'-' lter the air which passes through the air valve thereof, in order lpeciflcation othetters Patefit'ed Apr, 13, 1920,

fitting 7, as showniin Fig. 1. A' nipple 14 is screwed into the bushing 9 and provides a trap for water, and other fore1 matter which may be jadily removed rom said trap by removing the plug 15 or through a suitable cock-wh ch. may replace said plug vl5 if desired;

The active filtering element comprises a' V fabric tube 16 constructed of woven, gottonlamp wick'supported against collaps ng in any convenient manner, as, for instance,.by

being exteriorly fitted upon a foraminated .j j

tube 17 ofmetalorl other. suitable material;

In the illustrated example the foraminated' tube 17 projects beyond the opposite ends of the wicktube 16 into the bushings 8 and.

"9 respectively which are provided with recesses for the reception of the ends of said. tube 17; the latter is rigidly secured in position by saidliushings 8 and 9 which are adjusted to exert a pressure on 'said tube 17 in an axial direction. The opposite ends of the wick tube 16 are turned over so as to" form outwardly projec'tin annular flanges,

18 and 19 which engage-t e inner faces of the bushings v8 and 9 respectively and act as seals whereby the joints between the t'ube 17 and the two bushings 8 and. 9 are efliciently sealed. v r p v It will be noted in the-illustrated example 5 surround the wick tube, 16 ata distance L that the pipe 6 and-a portion of the coupl ng whereby annular spaces" 20 and 21. are

formed between these elements.

In practice the'air enters the interior of the foraminatedtube 17'through the inlet pipe 11 and passes out through the foraminations thereof and; through the wick tube 16 into the annular spaces 20, 21, and chamber 13 from which" said air flows through the outlet pipe 12 to the, air valve of the automatic controller previously mentioned.

In some instances the air may enter through the pipe 12 and after passingthrough the wick'tube 16 to the/interior of the foraminated tube 17, may flow out through the pipe 11 to the-point at which the air is used.

In either case the air in passing through thewick tube 16 is thoroughly filtered and flows out through the outlet pipe in a purified condition and entirely free from any foreign matter which in any way mightinterfere with the efiicient operation of the I aforesaid air valve. 7

- The physical characteristics of the woven cotton lamp wicking of which the tube 16 is constructed, make it particularly effective in filtering the air without retarding the flow thereof to any appreciable extent. The wicking 16 not only prevents all particles of foreign matter from passing through but also'condenses oil vapors and the like and prevents same fromreaching the outlet pipe 12.

Experiments have positively shown the efiiciency of the lamp wicking as an air filtering medium and ave also demonstrated its superiority over other fabrics such as canvas, cheese cloth and felt. Canvas is of too dense a construction and obstructs the passageof the air while cheese cloth is not felt to be carried along with the air to the air valve. A foraminated screen alone fails also to provide adequate filtration of the air. The cotton lamp wick overcomes all of these objections and in tubular form is readily obtainable almost anywhere, thus making it possible to replace the active filtering medium with a minimum of trouble, delay and expense. At the same time, the tubular lamp wicking does away with the necessity for complicated constructions in which sheets of material are wrapped about My filter is simple in construction and arrangement and easily and quickly removed and replaced and at the same time is of maximum filtering efficiency. No particularly skilled attention is required and adjustments of special characteristics are entirely avoided. Such foreign matter as 001- lects in the trap 14 may be readily blown therefrom, from time to time, either through a suitable cock or by removing the plug 15.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claim without departing from the spirit of my invention;

I claim:

An air filter comprising a shell having an inlet and an outlet and provided with an interior recess, an annular shoulder in said shell surrounding said recess, a foraminous tube within said shell and having its one end fitted within said recess, a tubular element of woven, cotton lamp wicking upon said foraminous tube, said element at its one end extending transversely to its axis to form an outwardly extending annular flange in engagement with said annular shoulder and means adjustably connected with said shell whereby the other end of said foraminous tube is supported andwhereby said tube is movable lengthwise of its axis to force said annular flange against said annular shoulder to seal the joint between said tube and the wallof said recess.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HERBERT P. MILKER. 

